Notes / Commercial Description:
Originally conceived along the lines of a Belgian Dubbel, Hell Hath No Fury... Ale morphed during development into something entirely different. Blending a pair of Belgian abbey-style yeasts into a recipe more akin to a roasty stout, Hell Hath No Fury... Ale offers up warm, roasted notes of coffee & dark chocolate together with the fruity & clove-like aromas.

A: The pour began slowly and became increasingly aggressive but this did not cause the beer to form a head. So not head to evaluate. The brew is a deep, dark mahogany color and absolutely opaque.

S: The aroma is fairly robust and consists of sweet dark roasted malt, toasted barley and just a few hints of prunes and chocolate.

T: The taste has a Belgian yeast spice and a little bready yeast, along with sweet malt and some toasted grain; and, there are again just a few hints of dark dried fruits and chocolate.

M: The body in on the heavier side of medium, and is very smooth and finished clean. There is very little carbonation and that seem to work just fine for this beer.

O: This beer has a unique combination of flavors and does not fit neatly into any particular style category – it is just a darn good beer. It successfully combines the best aspects of a Belgian double and a stout. This combination results in a pleasing and robust dark beer. This beer may not appeal to everyone, but if you like Belgian doubles and stouts this beer is able to pull-off that rare feat of blending the best of both styles into one beer.

Just cracked open my first round of Hell (Hath No Fury). Black in color, dark tan/brown head. Medium to full-bodied. The balance of roast and chocolate is superb, and the dark fruits, though more subtle with this brew are there. Rather stout-like, but I'm okay with that. Not exceptional but damn solid

Very dark brown; nearly black in the glass save a few grape juice highlighted streaks. One finger head thins considerably. Not much lace.

The aroma has a fair amount of toasted dark bread and a hint of roastiness and smoke. Fruits have a good showing - tart apple, apple butter, banana and hints of raisin. Mild yeast spice. Maybe a dusting of cocoa powder.

The taste starts with a fruity twinge, coupled with a moderate herbal hop presence. From there is thickens up with a bready middle and finishes dry and rather spicy. Hints of alcohol linger. Raisins and some sugary tones.

The body is close to medium-full; partially slick from alcohol and sugars and partially gritty. Carbonation is vigorous bur calms down over time.

It started off rough, but pulls together by about halfway through the glass. Decent enough, but I'm in no hurry to try it again.

O - I'm not very experienced in this style, but as far as tasty beers are concerned, this one was unique. Not something that necessarily jumps off the page, and I prefer Dogfish Head Raison d'etre over this, but still a decent selection.

A - Very dark brown almost black color. Decent muddy brown head that quickly disappears to a tiny ring around the glass. After my first drink it left a nice layer of lace reminiscent of a the outline of a fire. I thought that was pretty sweet considering the name of the brew.

S - This one threw threw me off a bit until I discovered this has Belgium roots. Sweet malty smells, clove, phenolic, brown sugar.

T - Again, by looks almost fooled on this one. Looks like a porter/stout, but definitely not. Nice smokey flavor up front followed by malty and sweet goodness. Not much bittnerness to balance it out would be my complaint.

O - This is definitely solid and took me down a different path than I thought. I would try this again and definitely recommend it.

Poured from a bottle into a Leffe goblet. The pour is very dark reddish-brown with a nice tan head. The nose has some yeasty notes, sweet bready notes, dark fruit, and a little bit of a roasty or smokey quality.

Medium-full body and nice, firm mouthfeel. Taste follows the nose quite well. There is some sweet dark fruit, some bready, cookie-like notes, ginger, cardamom, and that same little hint of smokiness right in the back of the palate. The carbonation keeps the sweetness and smokiness from getting too intense, though a bit of each lingers on the finish. The smokiness gives it a roasty quality, almost like a stout.

Overall, a nice dubbel, but not really in the same league as a top-shelf Trappist dubbel. The depth of flavor and pastry-like taste typically brought on by Belgian yeast strains doesn't seem to be present here. Still, it has a distinct flavor all its own and is tasty in its own right. Fans of dubbels should try this one. I doubt you've ever had one quite like it.

Pours black with a 3 finger mocha colored head with pretty good retention and spotty lacing. The aroma has dark roasted malt, dark fruit, cherries, and licorice. I am not sure that I like having dark roasted malt in a BSDA.

Tastes much like it smells with dark roasted malt, dark fruit, cherries, and a small amount of licorice. Sweet, with some bitterness from the dark roasted malt. I am not sure I care for the dark roasted malt or the licorice / anise taste, in what is classified as a Dubbel.

Full bodied, chewy, with below average carbonation and a roasted malt / licorice aftertaste. Not something I would buy again.

Overall, it seems like the brewer has mixed a dubbel and stout to craft this quirky take on a BSDA, but the end product fails to excite me. It's really just a malty ho hum strong ale that pales in comparison to the Belgian greats. I'm glad I got to try this since it's one of the rarer offerings from Bell's; however, I won't be purchasing again.

A: Black pour with a few fingers of light brown head. Really nice retention on this one, the lacing does leave a little to be desired. The head seems to be a bit too fizzy, but overall a great looking beer.

S: Really nice roast and fruit aroma being emitted by this beer. Plums seemingly, with certainly Belgian yeast, and a lot of sugar. I would say I smell some booze, but at only 7.7% I really doubt that's the case!

T: This beer tastes really good. Roasted malts up front give way to a welcomed sweetness from the deep, dark fruits. The finish is dry and sugary, with just enough roast sticking around to keep it wonderfully balanced. No booze notes at all.

MF: I like the lower ABV really helps this beer on the palate. No sharp alcohol finish that is typical of this style. The beer sits on the palate dry, with a medium body and high carbonation. Very drinkable.

O: Homerun from Bell's. Can they do no wrong? With I had picked up a few more of these. The price is a bit high at $15.00 for a 6er, I'd say worth it!

A. Extremely dark brown color that passes for black, short-lived one finger tan head that leaves behind some minimal lacing on the inside of the glass.
S. Smells just like a cross between a stout and a Belgian dark, tons of roasted aroma mixed with raisins, dark fruits, and a heavy dark malt medley.
T. Flavor of plum pudding and a bar of baking chocolate with all sorts of other dark fruits mashed up on top, and a cup of black coffee on the side. Finishes semi-chalky and really nicely dry, almost Irish stout-like in the end. It practically screams “Belgian Stout!” by now.
M. Lightly carbonated on a medium yet smooth and silky body, somewhat coating on the tongue but that is bearable because I happen to enjoy the flavor that I am being coated with. I heartily recommend giving this one a try.

It had such a great smell to it that I was expecting a lot more. I usually really enjoy Bell's beer but this one left me a little disappointed. Good beer. I would probably get it again but not go searching for it. I am fairly new at reviewing beer so please keep that in mind.

Pours a dark amber color with an off-white head. Typical aromas for the style, here: dark fruits and sweet sugars (toffee and brown sugar, for the most part). There is a bit of banana and maybe even some roasted malt, particularly as it warms. The banana more pronounced on the palate than it is on the aroma. Plenty of toffee, sugar, and dark fruit (raisin, mostly) flavors with a hint of roast on the back end.

This pours a dirty brown with big sloppy bubbles. It has a gloriously roasty, smoky aroma with some raisiny sweetness rounding it out. Big smoky flavor, too. Low carbonation on this, with some lactic stout sourness becoming evident. Estery flavors, with a clear finish. Thin bodied but full flavored with toffee, raisin, and a smooth dark chocolate flavor complementing the smoked malts. This is hard to place, not one you can pigeonhole in any specific style, but it’s a good one. Reminds me of the Belgian smoked stout I’ve had at Freetail in San Antonio, in some ways.

I hadn’t heard of this beer before it came out; my beer guy told me about it the day they got it in the shop. Lucky for me, I guess – they sold out relatively quickly. Any beer from Bell’s that’s big and Belgian is alright with me, anyway. Cheers!

Brewed three-and-a-half months ago (“PKGD 10/18/11”).

A: Extremely dark, like pouring molasses or melted dark chocolate. Not a speck of light is showing through the black, as it shines like obsidian. The head is a silky-smooth, luscious tan, retaining a full half-finger for quite a while. Sparse, patchy lacing. Looks more like a stout than a Dubbel.

S: This nose is certainly not strong, and strange for this style. Molasses, cocoa, toffee, and probably one of the biggest plum scents I’ve ever come across. It sort of takes that last aroma and pushes the profile to a peculiar place of rum, barbeque sauce, anise, and pungent tobacco. It’s different, for sure.

T: The odd character from the nose definitely manifests itself in the palate. Plum, is it? That, plus super-spiced malts, coffee, and big tobacco smoke are sitting at the helm here. They’re thick, gooey flavors, flattening out with even more thick additives like brownie batter, cinnamon-raisin cake, and chocolate-covered banana. It’s almost a sweet-tooth’s dream, besides the plum/prune darkness. Nearing its end is an appropriate fruity dryness that’s augmented by just the faintest pine-hop astringency. It finishes out with a slow burn of cocoa, raspberry, and more smoke. Again, this is an unusual palate; interesting, nevertheless.

M: The feel is quite typical: it’s light, creamy, and warmly alcoholic. Dry in parts, especially at the end.

O: Is this a Belgian Strong Dark Ale, or is that just the closest label they could give to this beer? I’m not really big on pigeon-holing styles; that’s not what craft beer is about. But this is certainly something I’ve never had before (at least not in this incarnation) – as interesting as it is drinkable.

O: Hell Hath No Fury took me on a surprise trip. I was expecting more dominating fruit quality and yeast, but the tobacco and roasted malt provided a nice twist. I think of this as sort of a “dirty” dark Belgian ale because the flavors aren’t as clean as you might be accustomed to.